What is happy violence?
George Gerbner expresses in
his article, “Reclaiming Our Cultural Mythology,” that, “Most of the violence we have
on television is what I call happy violence. It’s swift, it’s thrilling, it’s
cool, it’s effective, it’s painless, and it always leads to a happy ending
because you have to deliver the audience to the next commercial in a receptive
mood.”
In my opinion, happy
violence is violence on TV or in movies that is gratifying and entertaining to
watch. I believe a great example of this type of violence can be found in most
action hero movies. These violent movies with amazing stunts and elaborate
fight scenes where the “good guys” take out the “bad guys” in violent ways
capture the audiences attention, and make violence feel normal or even
justified because you are rooting for the hero. One of the first movies that
came to mind as an example of happy violence is the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson.
I’ve
posted a link below to the scene in Taken
where Liam Neeson’s character electrocutes one of the “bad guys” who leads
him one step closer to finding his daughter. This torture scene is a great
depiction of “happy violence” as you feel that Liam’s character is justified to
do these actions because he is trying to save his daughter. If you really think of it, the entire
movie is basically Liam’s character brutally and violently talking out people
responsible or connected to his daughters abduction. However, the storyline makes the audience support and even
root for his violent actions against the foreign criminals.
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